Landmarks of Niagara County, New York, Part 2

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 820

USA > New York > Niagara County > Landmarks of Niagara County, New York > Part 2

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

during the building of the vessel, threatening to burn it. Most of the Iroquois were away on the warpath and before their return the little vessel was launched and safe from their attack. It was named Le Griffon (the Griffin). She was towed up the river to near the site of Black Rock and there left riding with two anchors. Hennepin and others then made a voyage to Frontenac in one of their vessels, for further aid in his religious work, and returned to Niagara July 30. On the 4th of August they made their way to La Salle and thence pro- ceeded to the anchorage of the Griffin, where they were warmly wel- comed. August 16 and 17 they returned to Niagara and brought the vessel in which they had sailed to Frontenac to Lewiston. From there their goods and supplies were transported around the falls to a point where they could be taken in small boats. Hennepin describes the tedious task of carrying these supplies up "the three mountains " and over the portage.

The Griffin was a small vessel, only sixty tons, but was well supplied with anchors and other equipment, and armed with seven small can- non. There were thirty-four men on board, all Frenchmen but one. After several fruitless attempts to get the vessel up the river, it was finally accomplished by setting all sail in a favorable wind, and attach- ing a tow line upon which the crew hauled. This was upon August 7, 1679.

While this work was progressing Hennepin doubtless visited the falls more than once and has left to us his description, which may be found in the Documentary History of the State by the curious reader. So, also, may be read with interest the description of the cataract by Char- levoix, written in 1721.

The great importance of this frontier was early appreciated by both the French and the English, and no efforts were spared by either to keep it within their control. It was the grand passage way of the Iro- quois warriors and the fur traders from the east to the west, and a mili- tary strategic point of great strength M. Le Febvre de la Barre was appointed governor of Canada in 1682 and received detailed instructions from his sovereign regarding a campaign against the Senecas, the main purpose of which was to prevent them from further warring against the Illinois and other western Indians. The rivalry that was to continue

many years between the French and the English now developed, and Governor Dongan, of New York, vehemently protested against the French making any invasion into the Iroquois country upon any pre- text. In the spring of 1684 the French officer reconnoitered the south- ern shores of Lake Ontario and the Seneca country, in preparation for his campaign ; but for some reason, cowardice among other charges having been made against him, nothing was accomplished that needs detail here. De la Barre's action found no favor in France and on March 10, 1685,1 he was recalled and the Marquis De Nonville was sent over in his stead.

De Nonville was a brave and experienced officer and promptly adopted measures for vigorous action. He studied the whole situation and, of course, was impressed with the importance of erecting a forti- fication at the mouth of the Niagara, and urged the matter upon his government. It would, he insisted, not only be a protection against the Iroquois, but would give the French the desired control of the pas- sageway of the Indians and fur traders. He finally advised the building of a fort large enough to accommodate 500 men, " enclosed by a single ordinary picket fence to place it beyond all insult." This, he thought, would entirely close the road to the "Outawas " against the English and break up the fur trade with the Indians.

When information of these purposes reached the ears of Governor Dongan, a long and spirited controversy followed, which is set forth in Volume III of the Colonial History. Meanwhile the French commander was led to believe, and it was possibly true, that the English were con- templating the seizure of the Niagara frontier. Preparations for the in- vasion against the Senecas having been completed, De Nonville gath- ered a force of about 3,000 French and Indians at Irondequoit, where he planted 2,000 palisades as a work of defense, which task he finished on the 12th of July, 1687. On the same day the march was begun, and on the following day a body of Senecas attacked the invaders, but were driven off. After some show of resistance at their villages the Senecas burned most of their buildings and fled eastward. The work of de-

1 Louis XIV wrote to his minister in Canada as follows: " I have reason to be dissatisfied with the treaty concluded between Sieur de la Barre and the Iroquois. His abandonment of the Illi- nois has seriously displeased me, and has determined me to recall him."-Doc. Hist. vol. IX, p. 269.

struction was finished by the French, who burned an immense quantity of corn, killed stock and destroyed growing crops.1

The army returned to Niagara, reaching there on the 30th. A site was now selected for the proposed fort and work on it begun. Stock- ades were collected and set, and three days later the so-called fort was considered " in condition of defense," and a portion of the army started for Montreal. A part of the regular troops were left under Vaudreuil to complete the work, after which the post was left under command of Sieur de Troyes with 100 men. The record states that wood was scarce in the vicinity of the fort and that it had to be carried up a hill. This, taken with De Nonville's statement that the post he had thus fortified was not a novelty, "since Sieur de la Salle had a house there which is in ruins since a year" when Serjeant La Fleur abandoned it or was driven away by Indians, has by some writers been taken as proof that La Salle's post had been established there in 1678-9, instead of at Lew- iston ; but the best authorities give Lewiston the preference in the mat- ter. Hennepin, however, does state that when La Salle was on his way back to Fort Frontenac in 1679, while the Griffin was being built at La Salle, he " pretended to mark out a house for the blacksmith which had been promised for the convenience of the Iroquois." This was at the mouth of the river, and possibly a house was erected there, but that the chief post was at Lewiston there can be very little doubt.

The little garrison at Niagara suffered intensely during the winter of 1687-8. The Senecas kept them in a state of siege, and if a soldier ventured from the fort, the tenacious watchmen were ready to slay him. Provisions were scarce, hunters could not venture out to kill game, sick- ness came on and by the following April their number was reduced to ten or twelve; this time some friendly Miamis came and cared for the survivors until the arrival of a French detachment.

In the mean time animosity between the English governor and the French was rapidly gaining strength. Dongan insisted that the French must destroy the post at Niagara and leave the country. After consid- erable correspondence De Nonville in the fall of 1688 demolished the works and abandoned the post. It does not appear to have been again occupied for nearly forty years. The document recording the abandon-

1 For De Nonville's description of this invasion, see Col. History, vol. III, p. 338.

ment is very full and formal. The cabins and quarters were left stand- ing. A cross eighteen feet high was erected in the center of the square bearing an inscription. Besides the five cabins, there was a bakehouse, a large storehouse, and another "large and extensive framed building having a double door furnished with nails, hinges, and fastenings, with three small windows," but the building had no chimney. The large storehouse was described as "covered with one hundred and thirty boards, surrounded with pillars, eight feet high, in which there are many pieses of wood serving as small joists, and partly floored with unequal plank. There is a window and a sliding sash." The other structures were also minutely described. There was also " a well with its cover above the scarp of the ditch."

The vengeance of the Iroquois for De Nonville's invasion was swift. A large body of warriors started for the Canadian settlement, fell upon the Island of Montreal like demons, destroyed everything of value on their way, and reached the very gates of the city. A revolution in 1688 placed William of Orange on the English throne, and war continued until 1697 with varying fortunes. The Five Nations continued friends of the English and engaged much of the time in harassing the French. Their authority over the whole west bank of the Niagara, and far up the south shore of Lake Erie, was unbroken, except when French troops were actually marching there.

The treaty of Ryswick (1697) was imperfect and left the sovereignty of Western New York undecided. The English continued their claims to all the country of the Iroquois, while the French with equal energy persisted in setting up the authority of King Louis. Permanent peace under such circumstances was necessarily out of the question and Queen Anne's war broke out in 1702. During this struggle the Iro- quois, who had grown wiser in their generation, maintained neutrality. Both European powers feared them too much to wantonly attack them. Meanwhile Detroit and other strong posts were established by the French. In 1700, in going from Montreal to Detroit, the French were careful to avoid the Niagara route, so as not to give offense to the Iro- quois. But the great importance of having a fortified post at Niagara could not be overlooked.

In 1706 proposals were made to the French court to take possession

of Niagara, before the English should accomplish the same avowed pur- pose. The most convincing reasons were given for such a course, which the reader can find in the Paris Documents. At this time Cha- bert Joncaire, for many later years a conspicuous figure on this frontier, appears on the scene. It was proposed to take advantage of his inti- macy and influence with the Senecas to secure their good will. Jon- caire had a few years earlier been captured by the Senecas and when his life was threatened by them, had gained their lasting respect by an act of bravery in the face of death and been adopted into the nation. He married a squaw and was made a sachem. The French govern- ment appreciated the importance of Joncaire's influence and received the proposals to take the possession of Niagara. Instructions were, accordingly, issued to d'Aigremont to proceed to Niagara, among other points, and adopt measures to prevent its occupation by the English. De Vaudreuil, then governor of Canada, was to co-operate. The latter advised the promotion of Joncaire and gave him employment, leading to charges that the two were in league in maintaining the existing con- ditions so as to control the Indian trade for their own benefit. In 1708 d'Aigremont reported the result of his mission. He states that he arrived at Niagara on June 27, 1707, where he met Joncaire by appoint- ment, " at the site of the former fort." They agreed that it was impor- tant to fortify the place ; that it would induce the settlement near by of friendly Iroquois, who would keep them informed of the movements of the English. This report was not favorably received and M. De Pon- chartrain wrote d'Aigremont that the post at Niagara " is not expedient under any circumstances." The home authorities had, without doubt, been prejudiced against Joncaire ; this is indicated by De Ponchartrain's remarks when the decision was announced. Said he ; " I will have him watched in what relates to the avidity he feels to enrich himself out of the presents the King makes these Indians, so as to obviate this abuse in future."

This postponement of the reoccupation of Niagara left Lewiston again the principal point of settlement. In 1719 Joncaire persuaded the Senecas to permit him to build a trading post. In the following spring he had Indians at work on the structure, which De Vaudreuil called " a picketed house," at Lewiston. This alarmed the English

and they endeavored to induce the Iroquois to order the destruction of the building. Nothing averted this but Joncaire's presence among the Senecas and the exercise of his great influence over them. The trad- ing house thus established, the French in Montreal sent on goods and Joncaire opened the first "store" in Lewiston more than one hun- dred and seventy- five years ago. When the English soon afterward threatened to destroy the trading house, the customary correspondence ensued between Governor Burnet of New York and Vaudreuil. Burnet complained that "the French flag has been hoisted in one of the Seneca castles," and considered it "an ill observance of the articles of the Peace of Utrecht." To counteract these operations by the French, Burnet established some kind of a trading post at Irondequoit in 1721, but it probably remained only a short time. And so the strife went on.]

The existing condition of affairs at this time led to the establish- ment by the English of a fortified post at what is now Oswego (called by the French, Choueguen) in 1725-6. This at once constituted a new and important factor in the strife, and the French felt the great necessity of having a strongly fortified work at Niagara. De Vaudreuil sent dispatches to his king that nothing could preserve their control at Lewiston and along the frontier but a strong fort at Niagara. In order to deceive the Indians as to their actual purpose, Vaudreuil proposed to have two vessels cruise on Lake Ontario in the interests of trade, and at the same time to carry materials for the " house," as he termed it, at Niagara. Joncaire reported to them that, while the Indians would not oppose their trading vessels nor the erection of a "house," they would not permit the erection of a stone fort. The French gov- ernment did not in that year furnish the means for either vessels or the " house."

While these negotiations were in progress, Joncaire was increasing his trading facilities at Lewiston, making journeys to Quebec for his goods. In the spring of 1721 De Longueville and others were sent on from Quebec to negotiate with the Indians for building privileges. The party numbered about fifty and among them was Charlevoix,

1 For the correspondence of Burnet and Vaudreuil, and other details of the, English and French operations of this period, see Doc. Hist., vol. IX.

THOMAS T. FLAGLER.

who wrote a letter from Lewiston to Madame Maintenon, which has frequently been drawn upon by local historians ; but in reality it con- tained little of value.

The first little store of Joncaire at Lewiston, which has been referred to in a document of 1721 as "a kind of cabin of bark where they dis- played the king's colors," soon gave place to a more pretentious struc- ture. It was described as a block house thirty by forty feet, inclosed by palisades, which were pierced with port holes. This building, how- ever, must have soon been neglected and left to decay, as it was fall- ing into ruin at the time of the erection of the stone fort. In 1627 Louis XV proposed its rebuilding, but it was not done. This French sovereign evidently took a deeper interest in affairs on this side of the ocean than his predecessor. He sent out 29,295 livres for the erection of the fort, and 13,090 livres for the building of two barks to aid in transporting materials to Niagara. There are no recorded details of the construction of the fort, but it was erected in 1726 and with changes and improvements, remains to this day.

The English were now alive to the importance of the French opera- tions on this frontier. The principal act of retaliation was the construc- tion of the fort at Oswego, which point became secondary only to Niagara. Burnet wrote of it to the Board of Trade :

I depend upon its being of the best use of anything that has ever been undertaken on that side, either to preserve our own Indians in our Interest, or to promote and fix a constant Trade with the remote Indians.

The Marquis de Beauharnois, then governor of Canada, took Burnet to task for building the fort at Oswego, and the usual paper wa. fare continued, for which space cannot be spared in these pages. In 1728 the French king wrote Beauharnois that the reconstruction of the house at the Niagara carrying place (Lewiston) did not seem necessary, in view of the strength of the fort at the mouth of the river. Competition in trade with the Indians now entered into the contest and Beauharnois directed that Niagara be well supplied with goods and that they be sold at such prices as would prevent the Indians going to Oswego to trade with the English. In 1730 Sieur de Rigauville was placed in command at Niagara, Joncaire having been sent among the Senecas in the general interest of the French; he took his son with him. For a period of

twenty-five years after the rebuilding the fort at Niagara the strife for the good will and alliance of the Iroquois by the French and the English continued unabated, the element of profit in trade being dominant in the struggle. The French gained the greater advantage in this respect for some years. Early in the intercourse of the Europeans with the Indians brandy and rum became one of the most important articles of trade to the natives, as well as one of the greatest profit to the white men. When, in 1736, Beauharnois informed his government that trade had greatly declined at Niagara, he gave as the cause the fact that the sale of liquor to the Indians was restricted by the French, while it was freely traded at Oswego, whither the Indians went for it, passing by Niagara. Rigauville still continued in command here, and the Senecas occupied their cabins at Lewiston, where they found more or less occupation in transporting goods over the portage. The Tuscaroras had come north and became a nation of the Iroquois.

A new and powerful character came into the field in 1738, in the person of Sir William Johnson. He was a young Englishman sent over to care for his uncle's estate in the Mohawk valley, and by his un- flinching honesty in his dealings with the Indians, upholding them a ainst the rapacity and dishonesty of traders, and his ability, he won the confidence of the Iroquois, and especially of the Mohawks, in a marked degree. He was adopted by that nation, as Joncaire had been by the Senecas, and made a sachem. By his powerful influence a large share of Iroquois fealty was allied to the English. Johnson was ap- pointed superintendent of Indian affairs in 1743.

Fearing the English ascendency more than ever before, Beauharnois, in 1740, sent La Morandiere to Niagara to have the fort repaired, pre- paratory to supplying it with more troops, ammunition and food. Jon- caire died, but his sons, Chabert and Clauzonne, were his worthy successors in aiding the French cause In 1744 Sieur de Celeron was . sent to take command of the Niagara fort, and thirty men were added to the garrison, making sixty four soldiers and six officers. The artillery in the works consisted of five " peteraros" and four two- pounders The stockades were repaired with a view of having the post in a good state of defense in the fall. As a whole the power of the French increased among the Senecas. Fort Niagara was their strong-

hold and all of Western New York was for more than thirty years to a very great extent under their control.

In the war between England and France, begun in 1744 and con- cluded by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle in 1748, there was a general pretence of neutrality by the Six Nations; but in fact, the Mohawks, and some other nations to a limited extent, aided the English. This was almost wholly owing to the influence of Sir William Johnson, who was persistent and indefatigable in his efforts for his country. In 1747 a French writer gives Joncaire as authority for the statement that "the Five Nations have accepted the hatchet from the English." This was, of course, an exaggeration. M. Duplessis, then in command at Niag. ara, stated that the Senecas were behaving well there, while in October of that year, letters from Niagara stated that the Indians in general were ill disposed towards the French. These reports show the un- settled conditions in relation to the Indians. Little else occurred during that war of consequence to this work, and hostilities were sus- pended in 1748.

During the eight years of nominal peace that succeeded this war both nations made constant efforts to extend their dominion beyond their frontier settlements, the French with greater success. To Niag- ara, Detroit and other posts were added Presque Isle, Venango, and finally Fort Du Quesne. In 1748 Captain de Celeron came to Niagara with a convoy of over one hundred French and Indians on their way up the lake via the portage from Lewiston to Schlosser. They report- ed having made a favorable impression upon the Iroquois here. In 1749 the artillery at Niagara was reported as consisting of "four iron two pounders, four of one and one-half, one six-inch mortar, one ditto for grenades, five swivels, and thirteen iron shells."

In the summer of 1750, Joncaire, the younger, told the Senecas that the French intended building a fort above Niagara Falls. Such a fort was built that same season a short distance below Gill Creek (so named because of its diminutive size) and at the upper terminus of the portage from Lewiston. This fort was small, but served as a protection to per- sons and property against marauding Indians. It was sometimes re- ferred to as the Little Fort, Little Niagara, Fort du Portage, and subse- quently as Fort Schlosser and Fisher's Battery. It served as a

rendezvous for the French and their allies on their way to and from the upper country. In 1751 Lieutenant Lindsay wrote from Oswego to Sir William Johnson that Indians from Niagara reported to him that a new fort had been built at the "Niagara Carrying Place " (at Schlosser) since they were there. Information also reached the English that the French, in July, landed at Niagara a force of nearly three hundred French and several hundred Indians, on their way to drive the English from the Ohio country. Against this movement the Iroquois raised opposition, a feeling which was cultivated by Johnson, who was more and more impressed with the importance of this frontier. He fre- quently urged his government to organize an expedition to secure its control. He insisted that the French had no right there whatever. The struggle that was to determine this question was at hand.

CHAPTER III.

CONTINUED WARFARE-1754-1763.

During the interval of peace that succeeded the war just described, both the French and the English continued their intrigues to gain the fealty of the Iroquois. It was apparent to both that the nation which succeeded in this effort would ultimately triumph. As a part of the measures of the English, they held at Albany in 1754, a "Congress " of commissioners from New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Massa . chusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maryland, who prepared an address to the Iroquois, and there met some of the most famous chiefs, among them Hendrick, of the Mohawks. The congress con- tinued in session about a month. The king sent presents for the In- dians and urged the utmost efforts to gain their friendship. Another council was held in the following year at Alexandria, Va., where Brad- dock was encamped, as the head of the army. General Braddock pro- posed an expedition against the French forts at Crown Point and Niagara. Sir William Johnson was commissioned as major-general to take command of the Crown Point expedition, and Gov. William Shir-

ley, of Massachusetts, a brave and capable officer, was to command against Niagara. A third expedition against Fort Duquesne was also planned. Shirley did not proceed farther than Oswego, as shown in the following quotation from Pouchot's Memoirs, volume I, page 45 :

The regiments of Shirley and Pepperell, with the militia of New York and New Jersey, according to the plan we have spoken of, arrived at the end of June [1755] at Oswego, from whence they could equally menace both Frontenac and Niagara. Bad weather and a sickness that prevailed among them, prevented the execution of their designs. They employed themselves during this campaign, in forming an in- trenched camp around Oswego, and in building Fort Ontario on the other side of the river. They also undertook to build vessels to form a fleet upon the lake.

It is a fact that Shirley did construct a sloop and a schooner of sixty tons each, and a large number of galleys and whale boats. In the mean time Johnson attacked and defeated the French in the battle of Lake George. Braddock was defeated near Duquesne, leaving the French in still better condition to defend this frontier. They had not been idle, their instructions involving the building of vessels and canoes, a sufficient number of which were to be placed on the river at Schlosser to facilitate the passage of their troops back and forth to the Ohio.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Landmarks of Niagara County, New York, Part 2

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed Publication date: 1897 Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 820

Author: Pool, William, 1825-1912, ed
Publication date: 1897
Publisher: [Syracuse] : D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 820